Weasel and Yokai,イタチと妖怪

Weasel has been seen as a kind of demon, since long ago in Japan as with a fox and a raccoon dog. I often encounter weasel at the field of my wild bird photos, but as it is said, it has with both fierceness and cute. There is a word of "yokai" which means similar to the word "a demon "since a long time ago in Japan, but "yokai" and "demon or ghost" is a bit different. About this please see http://www.sakaiminato.net/foreign/en/

You can see the yokai image of Shigeru Mizuki, famous for Youkai cartoons in Japan..

About Yokai(Demon)

It has long been said in Japan that when one encounters a strange or peculiar phenomenon that yokai must be behind it. It is said that yokai not only punishes people for their laziness and selfishness but also teaches them to take good care of things and to respect nature and the environment. Many Japanese have long been familiar with yokai.（quote from Sakaiminato Guide for Sightseeing）

Also, there are a lot of words associated with a weasel in Japan, even in the English world, there seem to be two expressions of "Weasel word" and “Wild Weasel"

 イタチは、日本では古くからキツネ、タヌキと同様に妖怪視されてきた。

私はよく野鳥の写真のフィールドでイタチに出会いますが、言われているようにそれは激しさと可愛さの両方を持っています。日本には昔から「悪魔」という言葉に似た「妖怪」という言葉がありますが、「妖怪」と「悪魔、幽霊」は少し違います。このサイトをご覧ください、日本の妖怪漫画で有名な水木しげるの妖怪像を見られます。 

妖怪について

日本では、奇妙なまたは独特の現象に遭遇したときに、妖怪がその背後にいるに違いないと言われてきました。 妖怪は怠惰さや利己的さのために人々を罰するだけでなく、物事を大事にし、自然と環境を尊重するように彼らに教えると言われています。多くの日本人は長い間妖怪に親しんできました

また、日本には、イタチにまつわる言葉も沢山あります。英語の世界でも、“Weasel word”,” Wild weasel”と言う表現があるようです、